Airtel Digital TV Launches Free Ad-Based Pay Per View!

Do you remember the days when there were no satellite TVs? Most of the channels that used to air on the TV were from your local cable TV operator.

There was one aspect that the local Cable TV operator offered that we do not get on satellite TV today – the free movie channel/s. Most of the TV viewers were generally hooked on to that local movie channel, because it beamed latest movies and blockbusters.

Fast forward to today, we have similar offerings from various DTH providers and it is called Pay Per View. You know how it works – you pay a fee based on the movie you want to watch and then that movie will be available to you for a fixed duration (generally 24 hours).

Though, PPV seems to be getting popular, still only a small percentage of users subscribe to it. And if they do, the instances are quite rare.

Now, it looks like Airtel has taken a leaf out of the way cable TV operators used to operate those movie channels. They will monetize this premium channel exactly how the local operator did.

This is how…

The cable operator ran local advertisements continuously covering nearly 3/4 of the portion of the movie. Though this was a big irritant while watching the movie, but still people did not mind it. They were able to watch new movies without paying any money.

Now, Airtel Digital’s new “Freemium PPV” as they call it does exactly the same. Airtel Subscribers can now enjoy popular hits and blockbusters at pre-scheduled timings on its Pay Per View platform for free. However, the free view of the movie will be available in a 3/4 screen allowing space for advertisements.

The customers will however have an option to see the movie full screen without advertisement by subscribing to the movie.

This is an interesting move by Airtel and I think other operators may also soon follow this “Freemium PPV” kind of offering.

Arun Prabhudesai is founder / chief editor at trak.in. He jumped the Entrepreneurship bandwagon in early 2008 after a long 13 year stint in I.T Industry. You can follow him on twitter @trakin and Facebook.Arun’s Google+ Profile

Idea is old as it was during tape cassettes, VCR to the digital age! Airtel has generated one more ad channel along sides, kudos tho their applications. On the other hand, i would love to experiment on my Airtel digital TV.